Pressure tank water closet system

ABSTRACT

A water closet flushing system having a pair of small diameter flush tanks mounted in side-by-side relation in the conventional stud space between bathroom walls and alternately receiving and discharging water through the bottoms thereof under the control of a spool valve so that air is trapped and compressed above the water as each tank is being filled to provide a propelling force for discharging the water to effect efficient flushing of a water closet with a minimum amount of water. Water feed to the tanks is through a reducing valve adjustable for each installation to control the amount of water and the trapped air pressure in each tank for the most efficient flushing of the water closet in the system. The system is not affected by variations in water line pressures and requires less than one half of the amount of water required by the conventional gravity flow water closet flushing systems. Since one tank is being filled while the other is being discharged, full flushing at rapid, successive intervals is accommodated.

United States Patent Wood SYSTEM Inventor:

Filed:

PRESSURE TANK WATER CLOSET Robert Arnold Wood, 1970 Woodcliff Ln., Palatine. lll. 60067 Mar. 11, 1974 Appl. No.: 449,752

[52] US. Cl 4/26; 137/625.69 [51] Int. Cl E03d 3/16 [58] Field at Search 4/26, 18. 28, 31, 30. 249; 137/625.69

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,460,577 8/1969 Weathers 137/62569 3.591.868 7/1971 Owens 4/26 3.677.294 7/1972 Gibbs et al .1 4/26 3.680.594 8/1972 Petersen 137/625.69 3.771.558 11/1973 Ailshie 137/62569 3.804.123 4/1974 Marshall .1 137/625.69 3.817.279 6/1974 Larson 1 1 .1 4/26 3.820.171 6/1974 Larson .1 4/26 1 June 24, 1975 Primary ExaminerRobert 1. Smith Attorney, Agent. or Firml-lill, Gross, Simpson. Van Santen. Steadman. Chiara & Simpson 1 ABSTRACT A water closet flushing system having a pair of small diameter flush tanks mounted in side-by'side relation in the conventional stud space between bathroom walls and alternately receiving and discharging water through the bottoms thereof under the control of a spool valve so that air is trapped and compressed above the water as each tank is being filled to provide a propelling force for discharging the water to effect efficient flushing of a water closet with a minimum amount of water. Water feed to the tanks is through a reducing valve adjustable for each installation to control the amount of water and the trapped air pressure in each tank for the most efficient flushing of the water closet in the system. The system is not affected by variations in water line pressures and requires less than one half of the amount of water required by the conventional gravity flow water closet flushing systems. Since one tank is being filled while the other is being discharged, full flushing at rapid, successive intervals is accommodated.

12 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PRESSURE TANK WATER CLOSET SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates to the art of flushing water closets and particularly to air compression flush tanks systems.

Heretofore known water closet flush tank systems using compressed air trapped above the water for inducing a rapid discharge of the water during the flushing of a toilet bowl required complicated valving, pistons, springs, flow control mechanisms and the like components which could wear out, stick, clog, and be easily damaged. These prior known systems had a single tank which was drained during each flush and then had to be refilled before it was available for the next flush. Appreciable time intervals between flushes were thus required.

SUMMARY OF THIS INVENTION This invention now provides an air compression flush tank system for water closets free from heretofore required complicated valving, pistons, springs, control plates, and the like components required in the prior art systems and capable of being successively used at rapid intervals to effect efficient flushing with minimum amounts of water.

According to this invention, a pair of water tanks of sufficiently small cross sectional area to fit between the studding of conventional bathroom walls are mounted in side-by-side relation on a spool valve housing to alternately receive water and discharge water through the bottom ends thereof under the control of the valve spool. The tanks are closed at their top ends to trap air above the water as they are being filled. The tanks may be made of metal or plastic, are preferably cylindrical with a diameter of about inches and are sufficiently long to store enough water for efficient flushing. Plastic tanks with bottleneck bottom ends for insertion in the spool valve housing and having a water capacity of about 5 gallons are preferred. However, the system of this invention generally uses less than two gallons of water per flush as contrasted with the 5 or 6 gallons of water for effective flushing of water closets in prior systems.

Water is fed to a central inlet in the spool valve housing at a pressure controlled by an adjustable pressure reducing valve in the water line. The valve is set to feed the water to the tanks at pressures that will fill the tanks to levels just enough for the most efficient flush in each particular system. Since toilet bowl water inlet punchings will vary, the setting of the reducing valve will also vary to provide enough water in each tank for the effective flushing of the particular toilet bowl. Usually, the pressure regulator is set so that each tank will only receive a maximum of 2 gallons of water. The water line pressure, of course, can vary greatly but since the tanks will receive an ample supply of water at pressures less than pounds per square inch and since a minimum water pressure of 35 pounds per square inch is conventional, it follows that the line pressure can vary widely without affecting the tank filling pressure.

The valve spool is tripped by any suitable linkage means such as a bell crank and a holding device is provided for maintaining the valve in its tripped position until it is again actuated for the next flushing operation.

It is then an object of this invention to provide a multiple tank air compression type flush tank system for water closets which will accommodate repeated flushings at rapid intervals.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air compression type flush tank system for toilet bowls free from components which will wear, stick and clog.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a water closet flush tank system utilizing a pair of small diameter flush tanks in side-by-side relation which are filled and discharged through the bottoms thereof and which trap air in the tops thereof to impel water therefrom.

A specific object of this invention is to provide a toilet bowl flushing system having a spool valve mounting a pair of upright tanks in side-by-side relation, receiving water through a central inlet at a pressure controlled by a pressure reducing valve which is set for each installation and having a single spool manually tripped to alternately and simultaneously fill and discharge the tanks.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide a toilet bowl air compression type flush tank system having a pair of small diameter elongated plastic bottles mounted in the stud space of a bathroom wall on a spool valve discharging to the toilet bowl and receiving water from a pressure reducing valve and having a valve spool which is manually tripped to discharge water from one bottle to the toilet bowl and simultaneously feed water to the other bottle.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings which, by way of a preferred example illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view ofa pressure tank water closet system of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken generally along the line llll of FIG. 1',

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line llI-III of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 1.

The air compression flush tank system 10 of this invention as shown in FIG. 1, includes a pair of small diameter elongated tanks or bottles 11 and 12 mounted in side-by-side relation on a valve 13 having a central inlet 14 and a bottom outlet 15 discharging to the flush pipe 16 of a water closet or toilet bowl 17. The inlet 14 receives water from an inlet pipe or tube I8 fed by an adjustable pressure reducing valve 19 which receives water from the main water inlet pipe 20. The valve 13 has a rod 21 projecting from an end thereof and a bell crank 22 rotatably mounted in bearings 23 and rocked by a lever handle 24 extends through an eye end 21a of the rod 21 so that the rod is alternately pushed into and pulled from the valve when the lever 24 is tripped.

The tanks or bottles 11 and 12, the valves 13 and 19, and the bell crank 22 are all mounted in the conventional stud space 25 between walls 26 and 27 of a conventional bathroom wall as better shown in FIG. 2. This wall construction includes 2 inch X 6 inch studs 28 between the walls 26 and 27. The tanks 11 and 12 are of sufficiently small diameter so as to fit freely in the space 25 without interfering with the walls 26 and 27 or the studs 28.

The tanks 11 and 12 have closed tops 11a and 12a respectively sealed by plugs 29 and 30 and reduced diameter externally threaded bottom necks 11b and 12h.

As best shown in FIG, 3, the valve 13 has a housing 31 preferably composed of cast bronze or brass with a pair of top opening internally threaded nipples 32 and 33 respectively receiving the threaded necks 11b and 12b of the tanks 11 and 12. The housing also has an internally threaded bottom opening nipple 34 providing the outlet 15 receiving the flush pipe 16 to the toilet bowl l7.

Passageways 35 and 36 connect the inlet nipples 32 and 33 with opposed chambers 37 and 38 on opposite sides of a central chamber 39 communicating with the inlet 14. These chambers 37 and 38 are joined with the central chamber 39 by ports 40 and 41 respectively, and are joined with outboard chambers 42 and 43 by ports 44 and 45 respectively.

A valve spool 46 has a central head 47 controlling the ports 40 and 41, an end head 48 controlling the port 44 and a second end head 49 controlling the port 45. Each head 47, 48, and 49 has a resilient seal ring 50 mounted cireumferentially therearound to sealingly engage the ports in which the head operates.

The valve spool 46 is mounted at one end on the rod 21 which slides through a bearing 5] and an overlying seal 52 in one end of the housing 31. The other end of the valve spool 46 is mounted on a pin or second rod 53 which is slidably carried in a bearing 54 and slides through an overlying seal 55 in the other end of the housing 31.

When the valve spool 46 is in the position shown in solid lines in FIG 3, the head 47 seals the port 40, the head 49 seals the port 45, and the ports 41 and 44 are open. In this position water from the inlet 14 flows into the chamber 39 through the port 41 into the chamber 38 and then through the passage 36 to fill the bottle 12. At the same time water from the bottle 11 will discharge through the passage 35 into the chamber 37, through the open port 44 and to the outlet 15. Thus, the tank or bottle 12 is being filled with water while water from the tank or bottle 11 is being discharged to flush the toilet bowl, Since the tops of the tanks 11 and 12 are sealed, air ahead of the water filling these tanks will be trapped and compressed by the water in the tops of the tanks. This compressed air effectively expands when the water is being flushed from the tank to effect a rapid pressured water flush.

When the valve spool 46 is tripped to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 3, the head 47 will close the port 41, the head 48 will close the port 44 and the ports 40 and 45 will be open so that the tank 11 will be filled while the tank 12 is being discharged.

Reciprocation of the valve spool 46 may be effected in any suitable manner including the bell crank arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2 where the lever handle 24 mounted on the wall 27 can be swung in opposite directions to rock the bell crank 22 and thereby either push the rod 21 to move the valve spool 46 to the dotted line position or to pull the rod 21 to move the valve spool 46 to the solid line position of FIG. 3.

To hold the bell crank 22 in fixed position at the ends of its strokes, the bell crank rod 22 carries a square nut 56 and a pair of opposed spring fingers 57 ride on the flat opposite sides of this nut as shown in FIG. 4. Then when the lever 24 is swung to the left as shown in FIG. 1, the spring fingers 57 will engage the opposite flat sides of the nut 56 to hold the lever and the bell crank rod 22in this position. Next, when the lever 24 is swung to the right, the nut will rotate against the bias of the spring fingers 57 so that the spring fingers will engage the next adjacent sides of the nut and hold the lever and rod in this new position. In this mannner, the valve spool 46 is alternately shifted from the solid to the dotted line positions of FIG. 3 to effect the alternate filling and emptying of the tanks 11 and 12.

The pressure reducing valve 19 receives water at whatever line pressure is available in any particular installation. Usually, water line pressure in conventional residences is about 35 pounds per square inch but it may go up as high as pounds per square inch in commercial and office installations. The pressure reducing valve 19 is manually set in each installation of the system of this invention so as to supply water to the inlet tube 18 at a pressure that is just sufficient to fill the tanks 11 and 12 to a level which will supply enough water for an effective flush of the toilet bowl 17. In most installations, pressures of less than 20 pounds per square inch are ample to fill the tanks 11 and 12 to levels for storing enough water for efficient flushes. Usually less than two gallons of water is sufficient for effective flushing.

To prevent the tanks 11 and 12 from becoming water-logged, vacuum breaker valves can be inserted in the tops of the tanks by removing the plugs 29 and 30. These valves have depending tubes opening at the bottoms of the tanks and are effective to admit air to the tanks whenever a vacuum is created during the flushings of the tanks. The valves are then closed when the tanks are being filled so that the admitted air will be trapped on top of the water.

From the above descriptions it will be understood that this invention now provides an effective water closet flushing system operating on an air compression principle and requiring only minimal amounts of water for effective flushing of toilet bowls while being insensitive to variations in water line feed pressure.

I claim as my invention;

1. A water closet flushing apparatus which comprises a pair of elongated upright tanks of small cross sectional area adapted to fit in the wall space of a building, each tank having sealed top ends capable of trapping air and open bottoms for receiving and discharging water, a spool valve having a housing receiving the bottoms of the tanks in sealed relation, a valve spool slidably mounted in said housing, a water inlet to said housing, a water outlet from said housing, a valve spool slidable in the housing from first position feeding water from the inlet to one tank and discharging water from the other tank to the outlet to a second position discharging water from the one tank to the outlet and feeding water from the inlet to said other tank.

2. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the spool valve housing has top opening nipples receiving the bottoms of the tanks and a bottom opening water outlet for connection to a device to be flushed.

3. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the valve spool has a central head and end heads on each side of the central head and the valve housing has ports on opposite sides of the water inlet controlled by the central valve spool head and outboard ports controlled by the end heads of the spool valve for selectively connecting the tanks to the inlet and outlet.

4. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 including a bell crank actuated lever propelling the valve spool between the first and second positions.

5. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tanks have reduced diameter bottom neck portions sealingly connected with the top of the spool valve housing.

6. A water closet air compression type flush tank system for toilet which comprises a pair of small diameter elongated water tanks in side-by-side relation having closed tops and reduced diameter necks projecting from the bottoms thereof, a spool valve having a housing with top opening inlet nipples receiving said necks of the tanks in sealed relation. a bottom opening discharge nipple and a central inlet, a valve spool slidable in said housing controlling flow alternately from the inlet to one tank and simultaneously from the other tank to the outlet, means for tripping the valve spool to its alternate flow control positions, and a variable pressure reducing valve supplying water to the inlet.

7. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the water tanks are composed of plastic material.

8. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the water tanks are mounted between the studs and walls of a conventional bathroom wall.

9. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the means for tripping the valve spool is a lever actuated bell crank.

10. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the reducing valve is manually adjustable.

11. A water closet air compression type flush tank system for toilet bowls which comprises small diameter elongated water tank means adapted to fit between the studding and opposed walls of a conventional bathroom wall and having a sealed top and an open bottom, a valve communicating with said open bottom having a water inlet and a water outlet, means in said valve for selectively joining the water inlet to said tank means and the tank means to said outlet, and an adjustable pressure reducing valve supplying water to said inlet at a pressure predetermined for the particular toilet bowl installation to fill the tank means with enough water for efficient flushing of the toilet bowl whereby air will be trapped in the closed top of the tank means above the water level to provide a pressured flushing of the water to the toilet bowl when the valve means connects the tank means with the outlet.

12. The flushing apparatus of claim ll wherein the water tank means is a pair of bottles with reduced diameter bottom necks connected to the valve. 

1. A water closet flushing apparatus which comprises a pair of elongated upright tanks of small cross sectional area adapted to fit in the wall space of a building, each tank having sealed top ends capable of trapping air and open bottoms for receiving and discharging water, a spool valve having a housing receiving the bottoms of the tanks in sealed relation, a valve spool slidably mounted in said housing, a water inlet to said housing, a water outlet from said housing, a valve spool slidable in the housing from first position feeding water from the inlet to one tank and discharging water from the other tank to the outlet to a second position discharging water from the one tank to the outlet and feeding water from the inlet to said other tank.
 2. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the spool valve housing has top opening nipples receiving the bottoms of the tanks and a bottom opening water outlet for connection to a device to be flushed.
 3. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the valve spool has a central head and end heads on each side of the central head and the valve housing has ports on opposite sides of the water inlet controlled by the central valve spool head and outboard ports controlled by the end heads of the spool valve for selectively connecting the tanks to the inlet and outlet.
 4. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 including a bell crank actuated lever propelling the valve spool between the first and second positions.
 5. The flushing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tanks have reduced diameter bottom neck portions sealingly connected with the top of the spool valve housing.
 6. A water closet air compression type flush tank system for toilet which comprises a pair of small diameter elongated water tanks in side-by-side relation having closed tops and reduced diameter necks projecting from the bottoms thereof, a spool valve having a housing with top Opening inlet nipples receiving said necks of the tanks in sealed relation, a bottom opening discharge nipple and a central inlet, a valve spool slidable in said housing controlling flow alternately from the inlet to one tank and simultaneously from the other tank to the outlet, means for tripping the valve spool to its alternate flow control positions, and a variable pressure reducing valve supplying water to the inlet.
 7. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the water tanks are composed of plastic material.
 8. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the water tanks are mounted between the studs and walls of a conventional bathroom wall.
 9. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the means for tripping the valve spool is a lever actuated bell crank.
 10. The flush tank system of claim 6 wherein the reducing valve is manually adjustable.
 11. A water closet air compression type flush tank system for toilet bowls which comprises small diameter elongated water tank means adapted to fit between the studding and opposed walls of a conventional bathroom wall and having a sealed top and an open bottom, a valve communicating with said open bottom having a water inlet and a water outlet, means in said valve for selectively joining the water inlet to said tank means and the tank means to said outlet, and an adjustable pressure reducing valve supplying water to said inlet at a pressure predetermined for the particular toilet bowl installation to fill the tank means with enough water for efficient flushing of the toilet bowl whereby air will be trapped in the closed top of the tank means above the water level to provide a pressured flushing of the water to the toilet bowl when the valve means connects the tank means with the outlet.
 12. The flushing apparatus of claim 11 wherein the water tank means is a pair of bottles with reduced diameter bottom necks connected to the valve. 